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Resources for National Inventors Month

National Inventors Month honors the creativity and ingenuity of inventors whose innovations have profoundly impacted our lives. From groundbreaking technological advancements that have revolutionized industries to simple yet clever inventions that have made our daily tasks more efficient, inventors' contributions are invaluable. This week, we’re sharing resources related to inventors and tools that will inspire the inventive spark within your students.

Grades 4-12

Young Ben Franklin

Share this 10-episode podcast that introduces students to 13-year-old Ben Franklin, a spirited young boy who solves mysteries and conducts investigations. The podcast includes a listening guide, choice boards, and video explanations.

Grades 6-12

Da Vinci - The Genius

Explore an inventor's workshop through the eyes of Leonardo da Vinci. This site also offers activities where students sketch and build their own inventions. To find them, click Menu in the upper right corner of the site, then click The Inventor.

Grades 3-12

Reliving the Wright Way

This site provides information and resources about the Wright Brothers, their flights, and the science behind their work. Explore aerodynamics lessons, interactive simulations, and videos and share them with your class.

Grades K-3

Reading Treks - A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver

TeachersFirst Reading Treks create a virtual field trip of resources about a piece of literature using Google My Maps. This trek relates to the life of inventor George Washington Carver and includes an engaging map and a teacher guide with lesson ideas.

Grades 6-12

GE Focus Forward

GE Focus Forward offers 30 three-minute videos featuring stories about innovators like Jack Andraka, a tenth-grade student who created a new test for pancreatic cancer. There’s also a video that demonstrates how roads can use solar power!

Grades 6-12

Inventor of the Week

Explore famous and lesser-known inventors on this site to help your students understand that many advances result from minor, incremental improvements rather than revolutionary breakthroughs, and that every step forward matters.

Grades 6-12

Famous Scientists

Know your Einstein from your Eddington with this informative site that profiles some of the most outstanding scientists and inventors of all time. Learn about their contributions to science and society and how their discoveries affect us today.

Grades K-6

Do Try This at Home: Invention at Play

Find activity ideas that allow students to investigate and create, including designing an all-terrain wheelchair, inventing a toy, redesigning a shopping cart, or making a solar-powered invention. There’s also a special section for female inventors.

Grades K-12

Fun Stuff for Kids and Teens

Scroll through the homepage to find activities divided into categories related to inventions and inventors, such as Innovation Across the Nation, Make Your Own Time Capsule, Inspiration Nation, How Women Innovators Shaped the World, and others.

Grades 2-12

MetKids

Hop into the Time Machine at MetKids to explore inventions from many periods of history. Choose a time period from 8000 B.C. to the present day, pick a continent, then select Inventions as the big idea and click the red button to see the results.

This Week at TeachersFirst

We cordially invite you to attend our free virtual workshop this Tuesday. We're also sharing a post from our Infusing Technology Blog and a curated collection related to Memorial Day to help you plan ahead. Finally, we’re searching for highly qualified educators to join the TeachersFirst team—check out the details below.